Something I've been thinking - hope it's useful to others too

Hi,

I'm relieved to say I haven't gambled since my meltdown last month. But something occured to me last week which I'd like to share.

Addiction, in whatever form it takes, is truly awful because not only does it rot us from the inside out and destroy our sense of self, it is also very hard to get understanding, compassion, even sympathy, from those around us - especially from society in general that sees it as a weakness in character, a problem of our own making, or those who why try understand and offer such "helpful" advice as "Well, just don't do it!" 😉

Gambling is an especially nasty addiction because it's all in our own minds - there's no physical substance we inject or drink, no virus or pathogen that's infected our bodies. At least with cancer you get a visible sign of hair falling out through chemo! But I know we're not looking for sympathy. Understanding certainly.

I've just come back from a great holiday in Morocco. No betting shops, no mobile phone signal to bet online, no bars where I was staying as it's a Muslim country, no coke dealers on the street, etc. So physically no way for me to feed any of my addictions.

Did I think about gambling and having a drink?

Hell YES!!!

Did I gamble or have a drink?

Nope!

Why?

Because however much I wanted to... I physically couldn't!

My point being there's a valuable lesson here, (for me at least). When the urges strike, in a moment of weakness, any of us can give in, but if we physically don't have access to our poison of choice then the only damage we can do is to moan about it and ride it out.

So, if you realise you have a problem and want to do something about then Install Gamblock, K9 or any blocking software on your internet enabled devices. Buy a cheap non-internet accessible phone. Only ever carry a small amount of cash sufficient for your daily needs and hand over your cards to a trusted love one.

I'm sitting here now feeling a strong urge to gamble. Luckily at the moment I feel positive in myself so my willpower is enough to not give in. But if later, after a few drinks, my willpower isn't enough - I literally don't have access to any funds except about £5 cash! Sure I'll b***h and moan about it in the moment, but when I wake up in the morning I'll feel a strong buzz of genuine excitement.

However much you want to gamble; if you physically can't then it's not an option.

Obvious point I guess, but one I'd never really acted upon before now. It works!! I read here about the triangle "Money-Time-Opportunity" - it's true, but can be reduced to just "Money!" - If you ain't got it, you can't spend it. I'm not suggesting we all move to Morroco, so we'll all have to come to terms with the fact that temptation is on every street corner, every webpage. But if we don't have access to the money, there's naff-all we can do to get sucked in.

Best,

M